Methven warns of lower profit

Listed shower and tapware company Methven says ongoing soft trading conditions mean its net profit for the year to March 31 will be 5 per cent to 10 per cent down on last year.

In January the company expected its full year profit to approximately match 2013’s $5.1 million result, or up by 10 per cent.

Methven said yesterday that stock reduction programmes by key Australasian customers had continued longer than anticipated impacting February and March sales. This has been compounded by the negative impact of the strong New Zealand dollar.

Profit after tax excluding one-offs would be up to 5 per cent down for the year, while net debt was expected to be about $15 million, $2.2 million lower than a year ago.